- Accountancy & Finance
- …
- Accountancy & Finance
- Accountancy & Finance
- …
- Accountancy & Finance
Changing careers
What are legal employees looking for?
Positively, two thirds
of Legal employees are
satisfied in their current role
However, on the opposite
spectrum, almost half are
considering changing careers
56% of legal workers are
considering changing jobs
in the next 12 monthsOne of the most interesting discoveries from our data was that 43% of people in the Legal industry said they are contemplating changing career in the next 12 months. This is four times more than the average benchmark of 11% across all the Professional Services specialisms we surveyed.
Several sources have determined that the reason behind employees leaving the profession is because of a heavy workload and dissatisfaction with their work-life balance. Thomson Reuters states, “This “Great Resignation” of 2021 did not spare the legal community. Instead, it resulted in burned-out and dissatisfied lawyers re-examining the law firm culture in which they were working, and taking steps to achieve a work-life balance that they found acceptable.”
Considered changing career
in previous 12 months51% of Legal professionals we surveyed said they would accept a lower paid job for a better work-life balance or more fulfilling work. However, this is 23% lower than the benchmark figure of 74%, suggesting that salary is still clearly an important factor for many Legal professionals when choosing a role.
Interestingly, when it comes to work-life balance, our data shows the opposite of what industry experts are seeing or predicting. 85% of employees we surveyed said their current situation was either average, good or very good. This could be perhaps as a result of more flexible working options becoming commonplace.
Would you accept a lower salary in exchange for better work life balance or more fulfilling work?
How are employers responding to this?
Legal firms are not optimistic about the wider economic climate.
In order to retain staff only 22% said they’ve made counter offers to employees who have handed in their notice in the last year. The main driver behind this lack of counter-offering seems to be that the vast majority of employers (86%) believe they can find similar talent in the market for the same salary.
However, while they may not feel the need to counter-offer employees wanting to move to a different firm, Legal employers are continuing to recognise that to attract and retain top talent they need to offer more than a competitive salary.
The top three benefits law firms are currently offering their people are a company car or allowance, pension provision above the legal minimum and paid volunteering days – with our data showing 89% for each. In line with the flexible working trend in the Legal industry, many employers are providing equipment for remote working (77%) and over 28 days paid annual leave (77% also).
Standard benefits
Whilst Legal firms believe that when an employee leaves they can find someone with the same talent available for the same salary, 100% of firms we surveyed offer benefits over and above salary which shows that they still recognise the need to do more to attract and retain top talent.
Read next section
